Will I be affected?

Anyone who doesn’t have access to affordable health insurance through their job or through a government program like Medicare or Medicaid can apply to buy health insurance through the insurance marketplace or exchange in their state, beginning on Oct. 1.

“Starting next year, nearly all individual plans — both in and out of the exchanges — will be required to cover an array of “essential” services, including medication, maternity and mental health care. Many plans don’t currently offer those benefits.”

How much will insurance cost?

How much insurance bought through an exchange will cost depends on several factors:

Your age. Older people could pay as much as three times the rate charged to young adults.

Location. You’ll likely face higher premiums if you live in an area where the cost of providing health care is high, and lower premiums where health care is not as expensive.

Size of your household. Obviously, the more people you’re insuring, the higher the cost.

Use of tobacco. Smokers will pay up to 1.5 times the premiums of people who don’t use tobacco. Some think this is unfair to low-income people, who are more likely to smoke, and some states have already banned a smoker’s surcharge.

Will I be eligible for a subsidy?

Only those buying health insurance on the exchanges will be eligible for a subsidy.

The subsidies generally will be applied when you buy insurance on the exchange, reducing the premiums you pay each month.

Will you be receiving one? The Kaiser Family Foundation has provided a calculator to help you figure out your potential eligibility for subsidies.

“To be eligible for subsidized coverage, your income would have to be between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($11,490 to $45,960 for a single person in 2013). ‘Income’ in this case means modified adjusted gross income — basically the total of your adjusted gross income from your tax return and any tax-exempt interest income you have as well as certain foreign income.”

Many people will be helped by the subsidies.

A new study by consulting firm Avalere Health found that two-thirds of young adults who are uninsured now will be eligible for subsidies, The Hill reports. (People with lower incomes may be eligible for Medicaid.)

Families USA estimates that nearly 26 million Americans will be eligible for subsidies.

California recently released information about what people will pay for insurance on the exchange there.

“The cost to a 40-year-old who needs coverage would vary from about $40 to $300 per month for a mid-level plan, depending on the person’s income. Some young adults, who are less expensive to cover, could pay nothing, depending on how much they earn,” reports Reuters.

Is my employer required to provide insurance?

Another component of Obamacare is that companies employing at least 50 full-time workers will be required to provide affordable health insurance or face financial penalties.

(Remember the definition provided above: The employee share of the cost can’t exceed 9.5 percent of their income.)

However, that requirement was recently delayed until 2015.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 94 percent of companies of that size already provide health insurance to workers.